I've generally been pleased with the lagers I've brewed but I don't try too often. Especially not light lagers, as they're just not my thing.

But I simply can't get to a Belgian blonde that I really enjoy. My last attempt was the best so far, but they're falling short of what I want. These are not infected nor do they have off flavors but they're just not what they should be, if you follow what I'm saying. They're lacking. Perhaps I am like Sisyphus as I shall keep trying.

Easiest? I think saisons are pretty easy. As long as you don't use 3724.

Light lager is difficult. I've yet to brew a good helles, but I think my fault was using Rahr pils. Yuck. Using Best Malz now. IPA is easy to make, but getting the flavor I want is a bit more difficult. I'm also trying to get a good oatmeal stout going too, but I'm having some trouble getting the right amount of roast flavor. It's coming up too chocolately, which isn't working for me.

But I simply can't get to a Belgian blonde that I really enjoy. My last attempt was the best so far, but they're falling short of what I want. These are not infected nor do they have off flavors but they're just not what they should be, if you follow what I'm saying. They're lacking. Perhaps I am like Sisyphus as I shall keep trying.

based on successes/attempts, for me it is Southern English Brown. 0/4. Low OG, low alcohol, fairly high FG and sweetness? Haven't come close without getting out of style size-wise. I suspect stabilizing and back-sweetening is the way to go. No thanks; doesn't seem like my style anyway so no attempt #5.

otherwise, yeah, lagers. Especially non-hop-forward ones. I've fooled a few judges with a mediocre overhopped German Pils, but otherwise there's few places to hide.

But am I the only one who thinks that APA/IPA is actually hard? In my area, it seems like if you can brew a passable IPA or APA, you'll be a shoo in for a gold medal. Almost makes me want to brew one!

I've had this too. I can make a good Blonde, but add some hops and I don't know what happens. I've only made one good IPA to date and it was an extract batch. I also have a rough time with Browns and Dunkleweizen. Always watery or over powering.Easiest beers to me have been Old Ale (won a gold on an only 3 month old version- first comp ever entered) and Stouts.

I should note I don't lager or do sours. Nor do I pay attention to water chemistry. I knew I'd be moving so never dialed in on the water. I figure that lesson will be coming soon.

I think that Kolsch is a fairly easy style to brew, but is tricky to get really right. Obviously paler,milder beers often leave much less to hide behind, but I definitely don't think porter or stouts are easy to brew WELL either. While the roasty flavors can mask flaws, it is also easy to make something muddy or just plain ordinary.

+1 to Saisons. I've used 3711 for about 5 different Saisons (including one Saison de Noel) and Belle Saison Yeast for two and they've all turned out great.

I've done several different stouts and they seem fairly easy to produce a great beer. I've only used 1056 and US-05 for the stouts.

My APAs and IPAs always are big crowd pleasers and as w/ my stouts I use 1056 and US-05.

On the other hand, for some reason my Porters just haven't come out like I want (1056 and US-05 for these too). Not horrible, but not very good either...actually the worst Porters I've ever tasted! I've only tried one Belgian Blonde and was not happy w/ that either but may give it another try for Spring.

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Jeremy Baker

"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." - Mitch Hedberg

+1 about everything 3711 touches turns to gold. Every time I try something new with that yeast it is just incredible. Just cracked the first bottle of a Hibiscus Saison I brewed with it and I'm already kicking myself for only making 1 gallon of it.

+2. I can make 10 gals of wort and split it between 3711 and any lager yeast you care to mention, with good temp control and an ample starter and the saison will be amazing and the lager will suck.

Pilseners and lagers are the hard ones for me. Getting the crispness just eludes me.

+3 to 3711.

Our club group's friendship brew this fall was a saison that started life at 1.103. 8 days later, it was at 1.009 with no hint of fusels. Ridiculous. For the record, I'm terrified of this beer. It's too good for that high of ABV.

Big +1 to Saisons being among the easiest. Obviously some are better than others, but 3711 is excellent and easy to use, and even 3724 (which I like even better) has gotten easier now that we know the right temp profile. Saisons rock.